X-ray image detectors are widely used in medical imaging, security inspection, scientific research, and other industries. An x-ray image detector may include a scintillator layer and a detector array. The scintillator layer absorbs incident x-ray radiation indicative of the structure of an object imaged and converts the absorbed radiation into light photons. The detector array may collect light photons generated and convert them into measurable electrical signals, which may be amplified, digitized, or further processed by various electrical circuitry and algorithms known in the art. The detector array may include addressable photosensitive elements such as photodiodes and switching transistors such as TFT or CMOS transistors.
To improve the spatial resolution of images, light photons generated in the scintillator layer should ideally be recorded by the detector elements located vertically beneath the scintillators that generate the light photons. Crosstalk between pixels should be kept to a minimum. To accomplish that, pixelated scintillators, which can limit lateral spread of light photons, are developed. Conventionally, a pixelated scintillator is formed by a “slice and dice” approach. A block of a scintillator crystal is cut into slices that may or may not be polished. The slices are applied with a layer of reflective septa or coating and reassembled against each other, now separated by the reflective septa. The assembly is then rotated 90 degrees and the block is again sliced, coated, and reassembled. The final pixelated array then has square or rectangular “pixels” surrounded by reflective septa on all four sides.
The conventional approach of preparing pixelated scintillators is labor intensive, and the cost associated with slicing and re-assembling in making large area pixelated scintillator arrays is prohibitive. Further, the loss of material from cutting can also be significant if the pitch of the scintillator array is very small.
Accordingly, there is a further need for innovative methods of fabricating pixelated scintillator arrays.